Opening the screwed lid of different kinds of containers, particularly vacuum containers, such as cans and bottles, often causes problems in homes. To facilitate the opening, various devices have been invented which comprise a loop to be positioned around the lid and a handle attached to the loop for increasing the turning force. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,018 issued on Dec. 26, 1989 to Shaffer. It comprises a loop attached to a handle at its one end only. To unscrew the lid, the free end of the loop is positioned between the edge of the lid and the end of the handle, whereafter the handle is pressed against the lid so that the free end of the loop will lock in position. This device requires a relatively great handiness from the user, as the free loop end may easily slip away from between the lid edge and the handle end.
Another known solution is disclosed in German Published Patent Application DE 3 151 035 A1, published on Jul. 7, 1983 naming Kopineck et al. as inventors. In this case, the handle is divided longitudinally into two portions slidable relative to each other. The loop ends are fastened to the different handle portions. To open the lid, the loop is positioned around the lid and one of the handle portions is displaced away from the lid until the loop tightens around the lid, and the handle portions are then interlocked by means of a screw. Finally, the handle is turned in the opening direction of the lid. This known lid opener is too complicated to use to become widely used in households. In addition, the mutually movable handle portions make it difficult to grip the handle firmly.